title: Spongy chalcogels of non-platinum metals act as effective hydrodesulfurization catalysts.
abstract: Aerogels are low-density porous materials, made mostly of air, for which hundreds of applications have been found in recent years. Inorganic oxide-based aerogels have been known for a long time, carbon aerogels were discovered in the early 1990s and sulfur- and selenium-based aerogels (chalcogels) are the most recent additions to this family. Here we present new aerogels made of Co(Ni)-Mo(W)-S networks with extremely large surface areas and porosity. These systems are formed by the coordinative reactions of (MoS(4))(2-) and (WS(4))(2-) with Co(2+) and Ni(2+) salts in non-aqueous solvents. We show that these low-density sponge-like networks can absorb conjugated organic molecules and mercury ions, and preferentially adsorb CO(2) over H(2), which illustrates their high potential as gas-separation media. The chalcogels are shown to be twice as active as the conventional sulfided Co-Mo/Al(2)O(3) catalyst for the hydrodesulfurization of thiophene.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, USA.
authors.forename: Santanu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bag
authors.forename: Amy F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Gaudette
authors.forename: Mark E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Bussell
authors.forename: Mercouri G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Kanatzidis
mesh_terms: D000327:Adsorption; D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry; D002384:Catalysis; D003035:Cobalt / Q000737:chemistry; D005740:Gases / Q000737:chemistry; D005782:Gels / Q000737:chemistry*; D006859:Hydrogen / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification; D008628:Mercury / Q000737:chemistry; D008670:Metals / Q000737:chemistry*; D008982:Molybdenum / Q000737:chemistry; D010984:Platinum / Q000737:chemistry; D016062:Porosity; D013455:Sulfur / Q000737:chemistry*; D013499:Surface Properties; D013876:Thiophenes / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D005740:Gases; D005782:Gels; D008670:Metals; D013876:Thiophenes; D002245:Carbon Dioxide; D003035:Cobalt; D010984:Platinum; D013455:Sulfur; D006859:Hydrogen; D008982:Molybdenum; D008628:Mercury